Hero 7022

May 16, 2013

Price:11 USD plus shipping to Ireland from Hong Kong

Very decent packaging for a 11 dollar pen inclusive of delivery. I mean, could you ask for more? A simple box with both the cover and the container has a nice embossed feel to it, red at the top and grey at the bottom, with the Hero brand splashed across the top. Nice smooth velvety plastic cushion for the pen to rest on. No complaints here.

(considering some 3 digit pens have been received in PVC pipes, stuffed with toilet paper...)

Comparisons with some common pens, eg the Lamy ( which everyone probably has ) and TWSBI VAC 700.

Didn't weight it ,but feels about the same as a fully inked VAC 700, heavier than a Lamy Al Star

Pity the nib wasn't bigger, would have given the pen a more majestic feel. It's almost fighting with my Conway Stewart 338 for smallest nib award. Steel nib with erm, pseudo gold coating. Anyhow, pretty cool duo-colored nib for 11 dollars.

Barrell is cast in ..okay I'm really bad at telling materials apart to be honest. For its price, plastic I guess, surrounding a steel body. The trimmings are listed as silver but time will tell. The black/blue granite or electric as I'd call it, is a simple design that doesn't particularly catch the eye, and isn't too gaudy.

Cartridge converter supplied is the standard international one. Looking into the barrel, it's hollow all the way, and could definitely do with a longer converter, giving us the precious extra maybe 0.5ml?

It's described as a medium nib, but I would say it is a western fine. I've seen no broads so far, but maybe you'll have better luck searching than me. Basically , just go up one size for the width you'd like.

I've onlytested it with the Noodler's X Feather, but I will say it is a smooth writer, not a Montblanc George Bernard Shaw smooth n or TWSBI medium jowo nib smooth, but very good regardless for its value. If my Montblanc George Bernard Shaw was a 10/10, TWSBI is a 8/10, this would be a 6.8/10. I''m not sure if this pen is a 'dry writer'' or if it;s just the ink as this really is the first time I've used this ink. Have already given the nib etc a little scrub and flush.

Personally I like posting as it gives me some ''balance'' that keeps my writing from going to small , especially when I use a fine. But that's just me.

Pros

- cheap

- reliable and simple cartridge converter requiring little maintenance

- feels solid, not something that you'd drop and crash into 10 tiny pieces

- weight of the pen is quite evenly distributed to the middle of the pen

- snap on cap, good for people who take pens in/out all the time every few minutes eg doctors on ward rounds

- discrete looking and avoids the akward ''ooh you using a fountain pen, you must be so classy'' conversation you don't want to have.

cons

- really? for a 11usd pen I have to be critical?

- okay fine cartridge converter with small ink reservoir...

- I mean seriously...you expect a phoenix, yet offer chicken feed ? ( trivia, anyone knows where this line is from..hint, more likely to know if you were born mid 80s or so )